Pages

Alaska 2014 - Part II

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Moving right along... Following our hike on Monday, we decided to take a breather on Tuesday and explore Cordova. In all seriousness, you don't even need a car in Cordova. It takes 10 minutes to walk from one side to the other, and there are no roads out of town (only an airport).

The boys needed fishing licenses, so we headed over to a littler general store where they sold this bad boy... Salmon Flavored Vodka. I would have bought it as a joke, but as is the case with all things in Cordova it was expensive. This (and all vodkas this size) was $42. A little different than the typical $18.99 I pay at home!

We headed over to Baja Taco for lunch - they're said to have the best fish tacos north of San Diego. Adam and I downed our tacos and agree with the review - but some of the others didn't have the same experience.

After lunch, Maggie and I picked salmon berries in their backyard. I felt so outdoorsy! It actually was fun and relaxing. Afterward, Maggie used the berries to make a salmon berry cobbler - so cute!

How cool is Michael's truck? Adam is obsessed.

The boys heading out to fish.

Jeff sent me this picture of Adam and his fish and I thought he was the big winner of the trip! Turns out these are chum salmon and are basically about to die and not good to eat. Good catch anyway, honey!

While the boys were fishing, us girls drank some wine, did a little Zumba (ha!) and went to hang out with some of Maggie's "Coastie Wife" friends. I just find that life so interesting! If you're pregnant, the Coast Guard flys you to Anchorage (or wherever you want) a month before your due date because there is no hospital in Cordova - and no way to get out except the 1-2 planes a day that go back to Anchorage. Pretty nuts! At least they pay for your month long hotel stay... that has to get boring.

The next day was our big fishing adventure! Katie, Jeff, Adam and I chartered a half-day fishing excursion with the best captain EVER, Boris. The very first thing he did was let Katie and I pick out our own lures - turns out this was just a ploy to keep us distracted and out of the way while the guys got the boat ready. Nice move, Boris.

Once we drove (boated?) out a ways, it was time to fish!

Adam with the first catch of the day - a rockfish.

We're basically pros at this point.

Mastering the Boris Bait Weave.

Boris put me in the "lucky" position of the boat, and said that because I'm a girl I would definitely catch the most fish. WRONG. We were out there a good two hours and everyone was just reeling in the fish and I had nothing. Regardless, I was still having a good time checking my bait every 5 minutes to make sure it hadn't fallen off.

Then... BOOM. I caught this sucker! I reeled this 20lb halibut in from 125+ feet all by myself!

Katie was the next (and final) one to catch a halibut - girl power!

Oh, wait... Can't forget about the Skate that Jeff caught. Oops!

After a successful day on the boat, we passed Michael's Coast Guard ship and some adorable sea otters on the way in.

Naturally, after catching a delicious fish you have to clean it. Michael is the master at this and gave me a quick tutorial (he was actually an awesome teacher!).

Check out those filets!

From the ocean to my plate in just a few hours - incredible.

In addition to the halibut, Michael also made us some homemade sushi. Yes, he makes his own sushi. I eat a lot of sushi, and this was definitely the best! He's so talented.

Ok, let's leave it with this amazing picture of sushi! Final post coming soon...